Inverted and switched

Chapter 26

Mina awoke with a jolt, smiling when she saw that the room she currently lay is hers, not belonging to the inverted reality.

She turned off the annoying beeping of the alarm clock, messily putting her clothes on. She paused when she saw quirk-suppressing bracelets, but continued on. A part of her began to worry if the other her had hurt a friend.

She walked out of the door, seeing Iida starting down the hallway. "Hello Mina." He gave a formal bow that made the pink-skinned girl snort, amused.

"No need to be so formal prez." She laughed. Iida looked up at her, startled by her joyous tone. "Ha! Don't be so surprised. I'm back and I'm here to stay! Though I do need to give a certain inverted katsuki a piece of my mind." She muttered the last part, Iida unable to hear.

She spun on her heel and walked down the hall, waving to her friends who sat at the table.

They looked at her, freezing a moment before leaping with joy and surrounding her in a hug. They knew it was her. The way she talked and held herself was enough of a clue to prove that she was theirs.

"You back!" Kaminari cried, dramatically crying as he hugged, sniffling grossly. She let out a laugh, only now realizing just how much she had missed everyone. "Ew! Denki! Your getting your snot all over me."

A minute later, after everyone was downstairs after hearing the good news and after they had calmed down, did the questions start.

"What was it like?"

"Is Kacchan ok!?"

"Please don't ever leave again!"

"Look how I sparkle. Surely I must sparkle in both realities?"

But Mina wasn't focused on them, no. She zeroed in on a certain blond-headed male. Spiky hair covered crimson eyes, his posture guarded.

"This doesn't make any sense. If Kacchan was switched first, shouldn't he be the first switched back as well?"

Mina looked towards Midoriya who was deep in though. Only when Uraraka snapped her fingers in his face did he look to Mina with a wary and concerned expression.

Everyone thought about this. Mina just kept an eye focused on Bakugou. She didn't miss his smal flinch, nor did she miss the way he took a step back.

"Did you find anything out while you were over there?" Shouji asked, following her gaze to Bakugou.

"Yea. Yea I did. Hey Bakugou, why didn't you switch back when you were given the chance?"

Guilt pricked at her for putting him in the spotlight. She felt bad for doing so, truly she did. But if she had confronted him on his own he would have ran away or dodge the question.

Bakugou shrunk in on himself, tensing beneath the gazes. Just when things had finally started to get better, this happened. Of course.

Everyone, well mostly everyone, looked startled. There was the few who had suspected this. Maybe not exactly, but they had an inkling that this Bakugou did not want to return.

"You could have switched back? Why didn't you?" Todoroki's eyes narrowed at him, gaze judging.

"Well um- uh-" Bakugou was shaking now. "I-it's just that everyone h-here is s-so ni-nice, and e-everyone at h-home was s-so... n-not. I w-was not we-welcomed there."

"So you think that means that you can trap an innocent soul into your place." Tokoyami said coldly. He missed Bakugou just as much as everyone here, and he too was affected by his absence. Their Bakugou would help dark shadow build more resistance to light, with an occasional blast. It may look like Bakugou had been just bullying him, but there was never any heat behind the bright flashes. And slowly but surely, dark shadow no longer shrunk underneath the light of a flashlight.